The present invention relates to a ride-on toy stylized as a friendly character. Such toys are also often styled in a saddle-type configuration including a saddle-type seat. The toy is typically connected to the supporting surface by a connector. The connector can include a motorized member that moves the seat automatically or a biasing member that manually reacts to the movement of the child. Whether the toy and connector are motorized or self-powered, children get excited about and spend endless hours enjoying such ride-on toys. Generally, the connector supports the seat, allowing the seat to move in various directions. Specifically, in addition to an up and down (vertical) riding (bouncing) motion, some connectors of ride-on toys enable rotation or spinning of the seat while the child is sitting on the seat. Although rotation of the seat is desirable after the child has been seated on the toy, the climbing onto or off of a rotating toy may be somewhat difficult.
Parents generally encourage children to play independently as early as possible. For a small child, however, the rotation and bouncing of the seat on a conventional ride-on device can make an unsupervised mounting of such toys an unstable and even potentially dangerous undertaking. There is therefore a need to develop a ride-on toy which allows relative rotation between the seat and connector, but which prevents rotation of the seat when the child is mounting the toy and then again allows rotation of the seat after the child has safely mounted the toy. In this way, the child can safely mount the toy and then safely enjoy the freedom of seat rotation and bouncing.